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darren8

By Darren8

Lancashire, United Kingdom Gb

Mollusc damage to foxglove flower bud.
I noticed that a couple of foxgloves have had the flower buds half grazed away. Should I pinch them off or just leave them?
The obvious offender was given a free flying lesson & I sprinkled a couple of pellets in the container to try to prevent further damage




Answers

 

I'd just leave them, unless you want the perfect spire for a photo or display. I'm sure the bees will not mind if the flower is half chewed

27 Apr, 2019

 

I'd also leave them when finished remove the spent spike and it will produce more flowers later in the season.

the rain has brought the little beggers out in force. but hedgehog is happy munching so no slug pellets for my garden.

27 Apr, 2019

 

Rain, Seaburn! What's that? All the forecasts of heavy rain and short showers came to nothing, we gained an inch in the newly cleaned out tank (ready for the onslaught) and that was off a huge barn roof!
My foxgloves tend to make more than one spire, so I am sure it will be fine.

27 Apr, 2019

 

Had enough rain here to refill the water butt in a few days so they're out in force at the moment!
It's a few foxgloves in a big container that are more advanced than the ones in the ground so no other wildlife will find the pellets.
Thanks for the advice☺

27 Apr, 2019

 

depends on the type of pellets used Darren. if the slugs/snails eat the pellets and then are eaten by birds/hedgehogs/dogs/cats etc they then can get a dose of poison.
there is at least one on the market that makes the mollusc stop eating and burrow into the soil so they die and rot out of sight. cant remember which make it is but they don't contain Metaldehyde. I think that has been banned or is shortly to be banned.

27 Apr, 2019

 

The sheeps wool I bought last year was useful in deterring slugs. For pots, I use copper tape and that's good for me. No slug pellets allowed in this garden. We have hedgehogs!

Your free flying lesson comment made me lol! Slugs are a real pain to us gradeners aren't they? I went out every night with a torch when my white double-headed daffs were in bud, but half of them were still eaten. It's a constant fight. I put the ones I take prisoner in the compost bin.

27 Apr, 2019

 

I know I haven't got any hedgehog visitors unfortunately. I've occasionally wondered if I could adopt one from a rescue centre though☺
I use pellets reluctantly but having brought the garden back from a mare's tail monoculture & having a few neighbours who never touch their patches sometimes I just have to.
I'll have a look for the type that Seaburn recommends though! Didn't know about them

27 Apr, 2019

 

Mare's tail is awful I know. My next door but one neighbour has loads of it in her natural part of garden. For the first time I've found it in my patch and have pulled it up but think I should have dug up the roots. I live in rainy Devon so lots of slugs but they don't seem to go for my foxgloves. Touch wood!
Good luck with finding the slug pellets SBG recommends. She always has good advice.

27 Apr, 2019

 

Sluggo by Neudorff are the pellets that are recommended by the organic growers/soil association. it uses ferrous oxides apparently.

28 Apr, 2019

 

Thanks Seaburn, may not be able to find them locally but next online shopping it sounds like the ideal thing to get me to the free postage level☺

28 Apr, 2019

How do I say thanks?

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